We Believe GOTV Rally

Please join We Believe Ohio on Thursday, October 5 at 7:00 p.m. for a Get Out the Vote Rally for Justice at Congregation Tifereth Israel!

Our Keynote Speaker will be the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Sr. Pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City. Dr. Forbes has been recognized by Newsweek Magazine as one of the twelve "most effective preachers in the English-speaking world."

The rally will also feature Sister Simone Campbell, the National Coordinator of NETWORK, a leader in the global movement for justice and peace.

Bring your friends and family to rally for a more just Ohio!

Congregation Tifereth Israel is conveniently located in downtown Columbus at 1354 Broad St.

For additional information about the evening and our speakers, please visit our Web site at www.webelieveohio.org.

If you are interested in becoming involved with initiatives that We Believe has endorsed, please note that over the summer of 2006, We Believe endorsed several issues with implications for the November election. These include the Minimum Wage Effort (Let Justice Roll), Get out the Vote (IAF), and Affordable Health care (CAHO). Each of these efforts has a need for volunteers, and are listed (along with contact information) on our Web site at:
www.webelieveohio.org/press/volunteerendorsed.html

Thank you for your support of We Believe Ohio! We look forward to seeing you on October 5th!

Defending Church-State Separation: National speaker comes to Columbus

I posted about this a while ago, but since the event is tomorrow, I thought a timely reminder was in order...

Sunday, September 17, 2006 3:00 P.M.

North Congregational UCC
2040 W. Henderson Rd.
Columbus, OH 43220

Rob Boston (assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State) will be speaking on speaking on "Defending the Separation of Church and State in Difficult Times"

Click here for more details.

You can read more about Rob Boston here.

Rob Boston's book, The Most Dangerous Man in America?: Pat Robertson and the Rise of the Christian Coalition is available at Powells.com, Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble.com.

Episcopal Social Justice Forum

Crossposted from the Diocese of Southern Ohio Updates blog...

Social justice forum

Jeffrey Price, director of Public Policy for the Diocese of Southern Ohio, will speak at St. Alban's on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. The church is located at 333 S. Drexel Avenue in Bexley.

Price will discuss how Episcopalians can be educated to understand the Christian faith so that they may be strong disciples, equipped to exercise ministries of social justice and reconciliation. The Church has historically been an exceptional agent of direct services, hands-on care of and for persons in need. Where it has (in the past) fallen short of the mark of justice is in the area of systemic change and addressing the political and social systems that keep people in poverty or fail to uphold all persons as children of God, worth of dignity and respect.

The event is free and open to the public. For directions or more information, call St. Alban's at 614.253.8549.

Blog issues

I've been having some trouble with the template of this blog, so I decided to start from scratch with a new template. Some things are missing at this point, like the Haloscan comment code. Thank you for your patience while I get this sorted out.

The Challenge of Terror

I thought this might be a good time to excerpt and link The Challenge of Terror, written by John Paul Lederach in the days that immediately followed September 11, 2001. Lederach is a Professor of International Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame. Clearly, the U.S. government didn't heed his advice when responding to the events of 9/11/01, but I still think the essay is worth reading. And, since the media is busily revisiting everything else about that tragic day, I can't think of any reason *not* to revisit these thoughtful words.

Military action to destroy terror, particularly as it affects already vulnerable civilian populations will be like hitting a fully mature dandelion with a golf club: This will further perpetuate the myth of "evil United States military might" and will assure yet another generation of recruits.

Faithful Democrats

I'm aware of not having posted much lately on this blog--haven't had a whole lot to say, or time to compose my thoughts. Most of my efforts have gone into trying to generate some income for our household. Getting kids settled back into school, and Daughter in Ohio's birthday the other day. My "baby" is now 11 years old. Kids are good for reminding you just how fast time goes by.

But I wanted to make sure I posted about this new site, for anyone who wasn't aware of it. It is called Faithful Democrats.

In it, Ted Strickland, who is running for Governor of Ohio, has a piece about being a 'golden rule" Democrat.

For me, the goal is not to be a liberal Democrat or a conservative Democrat. For me, the goal is to be a Golden Rule Democrat.

Being a Golden Rule Democrat means you do your best to treat other people the way you yourself would want to be treated. In a political context, it means working for a government rooted in sound judgment, having a thirst for justice and committed to serving its people.

During my early years as a Congressman, I placed a plaque in my office with the following quote from the Hebrew Scriptures. It's from Micah 6:8: "And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"

Throughout my public service I've tried to live by those simple, powerful words.

Click here for the rest.

Last month, I took part in a blogger conference call with Ted Strickland. It is transcribed in three parts:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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